


Chai Tea & The Usual

by wellsmonroe (authorisasauthordoes)



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, F/M, coffee shop au bc im not creative
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-09
Updated: 2016-09-09
Packaged: 2018-08-14 01:04:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7992919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/authorisasauthordoes/pseuds/wellsmonroe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You used to be the most adventurous, the most outgoing, and all the sudden Mysterious Coffee Hunk has you hiding behind the counter.”<br/>“Mysterious Chai Tea Hunk, Clarke,” Raven corrects.<br/>Octavia huffs indignantly, dropping the washcloth from her shoulder and onto the counter. “You think I’m too chicken to go over there and talk to him?”<br/>“No, but I’m dying to see you do it anyway.”<br/>“It’s time.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chai Tea & The Usual

It was 1:22 on a Thursday afternoon, and Octavia Blake was staring at that cute customer again.

He came in every day for a chai tea, and then he’d sit at the same small booth and settle down to read. Sometimes it was a novel, sometimes it was the paper, sometimes he gave up on that entirely and pulled out his own notebook, jotting down phrases of his own.

His tranquil demeanor, set pattern of life, and obvious contentment with the normalcy is what really caught Octavia’s eye. Life had never been normal for her or her brother, and although they survived it together, it had given her an unnatural desire to constantly be moving, constantly be switching things up and staying away from routine. Coming in for the same coffee the same time every day seemed amazingly foreign to her, which only fascinated her more.

“And we lost her. How long did that take?”

“About a minute and forty three seconds since Mysterious Coffee Hunk placed his order,” Clarke states, dropping her gaze from her watch and grinning at Raven next to her. “New record, I have to say.”

Octavia shrugs, tearing her eyes away from the attractive man and leaning forward on her elbows. She was grateful that Clarke and Raven came to visit her as often as they did—barista life can get mind-numbing after a while. “You all exaggerate.”

“O, this is ridiculous,” Raven says flatly, smacking her hands down on the counter and giving Octavia her take-no-shit glare. “You’ve been ogling at this guy every day, reliably so, for the last three months. At first it was sneaky, but now you’re just pressed to an obvious degree.”

Octavia’s glance lingers on him again, before she raises her hands in surrender. “You know, it’s my job to interact with the customers.”

“Except you’re not interacting with him.”

“That’s false.”

Clarke raises an eyebrow. “Okay, name one thing you know about him.”

“His coffee order. Chai tea. Occasionally, a chocolate scone.”

Raven rolls her eyes, silently imitating Octavia’s sly response. “Coffee order, oh yeah? You practically know him like the back of your hand,” she says sarcastically. “Also, it’s amazing that this guy wants a chai tea every damn day. Someone has to give him some variety.”

“Some spice,” Clarke adds on, turning a flirty smile on Octavia across the counter. “And who is the hottest, spiciest chick we know?”

“You flatter me.”

“Honestly, though, I’m surprised you haven’t taken a leap of faith with this guy yet. You used to be so confident with boys. Nothing could stop you.” Raven narrows her eyes, examining her friend. “I mean, remember Jasper?”

“Yeah.”

“And Finn?”

“Unfortunately.”

“Yeah, thanks for that one,” Clarke says haughtily. Octavia gives her a puppy dog look, still pleading for forgiveness after accidentally hooking up with Finn when Clarke apparently had a crush on him. News to her, considering Clarke adamantly said many times that she did not. In the long run, it worked out for the best—Finn was a lot more than either of them bargained for and Octavia took the bullet for them both. “And Adam, don’t forget him.”

“Actually, it was Atom. A-T-O-M,” Octavia points out.

“That’s literally the worst thing you’ve reminded me of this week,” Raven mumbles, rubbing her temples. “Who names their child that? Who chooses to go by that within society?”

Clarke shakes her head at Raven’s commentary, yet ultimately agrees with her by the end of her statement. “You used to be the most adventurous, the most outgoing, and all the sudden Mysterious Coffee Hunk has you hiding behind the counter.”

“Mysterious Chai Tea Hunk, Clarke,” Raven corrects.

Octavia huffs indignantly, dropping the washcloth from her shoulder and onto the counter. “You think I’m too chicken to go over there and talk to him?”

“No, but I’m dying to see you do it anyway.”

“It’s time.”

Making a face, Octavia turns back to the machines and pours another cup of chai tea. She holds it up to her friends pointedly before scooting her way around the counter, making her way over to the small booth in the corner with a practiced smile on her face.

“Ooh, she went for the additional drink.”

“A smooth move.”

The sound of Clarke and Raven’s snide comments fades away as she makes her way across the café, approaching the cute customer and sliding into the booth across from him.

Suddenly with company, he lifts his head from his notebook with astonishment coloring his face. He stares at her for a moment before clearing his throat, managing a shy smile. “Hi.”

“Hi. I just saw you were busy working away over here, so I figured I would bring you another cup. On the house, of course.” She smiles sweetly and slides the steaming cup and saucer across the table in front of him.

He gives her a grateful nod. Now up close, Octavia is amazed with how the booth seat is dwarfed by his presence. He’s truly a well-made man, sturdily built and evidently fit. She isn’t sure who she’s supposed to thank for creating a man like him, but she’s thanking them internally. For sure.

“That’s nice. Thanks, Octavia.”

Surprise flashes across her face. “You know my name?”

He nods timidly, before leaning forward slightly. “You’re wearing a name tag,” he reminds her quietly, amusement lighting his features.

After a brief moment, Octavia breaks into a genuine grin, laughing lightly at her own silly mistake. She waves it off as he laughs with her, a soft moment shared between the two of them over the steam of chai tea.

“Unfortunately for me, you’re not. You are…?”

“Lincoln,” he finishes for her, holding his hand out over the table.

She takes it gently. “Lincoln. That’s unique. So what are you working on, Lincoln?” she begins, glancing down at the notebook in front of them.

In an instant, she realizes that he hasn’t been writing over here by himself, he’s been drawing. Small doodles, more intricate sketches, of the shop, the nature outside. There’s a rough sketch of a pretty girl wearing an apron, her hair done with a couple of signature braids. It’s a style Octavia knows very well – it’s her own.

Lincoln immediately blushes, shutting the book quickly in embarrassment. “Oh, just the usual.”

The usual. There were so many things about usual, about normalcy, that scared Octavia. But sitting here with Lincoln, she suddenly found them more intriguing than intimidating. Something told her that she would like the usual with him.

“So you have my name, but you don’t have my number,” she says smoothly, pulling over a napkin from his side of the table. She pulls the pen out from behind her ear and dabs the point on her tongue, before scribbling down her phone number in clear, fine print. She wants to make sure it’s legible. She passes it back over to him, giving him another smile.

He looks surprised, but not displeased with these developments. “Well, thank you. Maybe I’ll give you a call.”

“Please do, I’d love to learn the number that goes with your name too.” She gets to her feet, back to work, before she turns out another moment, tossing a look over her shoulder. “By the way, I make a mean chai tea.”


End file.
